Page 17 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

dare to even sneak a taste of candy, and so the Land of Sweets would be safe, forever, from any mouse who just happened to be hungry. And if the Land of Sweets is safe and intact, then the mice can’t find their way back to Hamelin.
But here is where nephew and uncle disagree. Franz wants to fix the tower clock that dominates the castle yard. After all, his Uncle Drosselmeir is the Wizard of All Things Mechanical and Franz is his apprentice.
So, Franz is betting on good old trial and error to fix the clock. Then, with the clock open, they could take the children back to Hamelin, and Franz could go to the Stahlbaum’s house where he hopes that Clara awaits. Therefore, master and apprentice have agreed to disagree. And so, each works on their own tasks – one trying to find the nut and the other trying to fix the clock.
But it’s been so long since they all came through the clock, that the reason Drosselmeir has Franz cracking nuts all day long has been forgotten by the Sweeties. Every week or so, Drosselmeir returns to his workshop from the four corners of the land, where he has gathered nuts of all shapes and sizes (which has created quite a shortage of nuts). It is there in Drosselmeir’s workshop that Franz, with his mighty jaws and strong, strong teeth, cracks nuts, looking for the one Nut that cannot be cracked. The Krakatut. All the while, Drosselmeir hovers near by, hoping that each nut is the Nut and the Land of Sweets will be safe from an invasion of mice.
Meanwhile, the Sweeties go on as usual, but with the added benefit of having lots of nuts to put into their candy and confectionery – even if the nuts come from a nutty old man and his very delicious nephew, who is pure eye candy (you
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